"Y/n." Minerva eyed you oddly as she stood in the doorway to her quarters.

"Good morning, Minerva. Do you have plans? I wondered if you'd like to join me for a walk this morning?" You asked, smiling hopefully.

"And the reason for this walk?" You frowned, a bit taken aback by her blunt reply, you had thought she'd take you up on the offer without hesitation. Maybe you had just caught her at a bad time.

"Er, I jus...just thought we should catch up. I've barely seen you all week." Your answer was partly true, it would be nice to catch up but you were also hopeful of dropping in a few questions related to a certain Professor.

"Okay, dear. Come in." She opened her door further and ushered you inside. Minerva's quarters were bright and airy compared to your own, you felt a little green with envy as you scanned your eyes over it. You watched as she put away a book and cleared up a cup of tea. She put on her cloak, "Okay, lead the way." She looked at you, a look of confusion mixed with concern.

You tried to ignore it and started heading towards the nearest exit "How has your first week been, Minerva?"

"Much the same as every other first week back; a lot of lost first years to look after. We've had a few weepy ones, missing home, you know? And quite a few over-excited ones but they'll soon settle down." She didn't look or sound worried. A seasoned teacher at Hogwarts, she'd probably seen everything there is to see.

As you exited the building, the fresh morning air hit you; it was a warm start to the day and it threw your memories back to being a first-year. You weren't scared like some or tearful like others; not able to miss home as you should have.

"y/n," Minerva's voice pulled you out of your 11-year-old head, - "Is everything okay? You seem…" she paused looking for the word, "...a little out of sorts." Worry muddied her eyes as she looked at you.

"I'm just tired. It's been a hectic week." You hoped the small smile would relieve the worry, but it didn't.

"How has it all gone? I hear glowing reports from Pomona and Lockhart never shuts up about you. Although not to offend you, I don't think that's because of your work ethic! " She cocked her eyebrow in your direction.

Rolling your eyes at the thought of him, "I can assure you, whatever Lockhart thinks, I have in no way given him cause to believe we're anything more than colleagues. He...he gives me a bad feeling, if I'm honest, Minerva."

She nodded her head, "I understand completely."

Now would be a good time to bring him up.

"So, Pomona and Lockhart are happy with my work, ha..have you heard anything from Professor Snape?" You felt your heart immediately race at asking and you hoped it was paranoia that was warming your cheeks and not a bout of blushing. "He's just very hard to read and I've really enjoyed the potions classes so far."

The Whomping Willow came into view, Minerva stopped and looked at it; its branches wrapped in bandages after its scuffle with the Ford Anglia. She didn't answer your question immediately which set a worry in your stomach.

"It's not often that I find myself not knowing what to say, y/n." You really had no idea where this was going, she sighed, "I suppose he didn't tell me not to say anything to you…" She mused to herself. He? Severus? "I don't want to speculate about what is happening between you and Severus but he came to me last night."

What? You felt your eyes bulge, "There is absolutely nothing happening between me and Professor Snape, Minerva." Sadly. Calm down. "What did he come to see you about?" You asked carefully, though she probably wasn't going to reveal much.

She looked at you like an adult looks at an oblivious child, "Well, about you, dear." She laughed, probably at the shock on your face, "Yes, I know, I was just as shocked as you. Never has Severus Snape done something like that before, I can tell you that much." She lifted her dress up slightly as you crossed a muddy patch of grass.

"I don't suppose you'll tell me what he said?" You tried to coax her again.

She furrowed her brow, "It was all quite odd. I can't tell...if he seems wary of you or if he's taken a fancy to you. If it's the latter I will be very surprised, indeed" she laughed. "Oh, no offense, my dear." She stifled the giggle she'd set upon herself.

"None was taken." Your voice was just above a whisper. This time you knew the heat in your cheeks was definitely not paranoia. Urgh. Wherever you thought this conversation would lead you, this was not it. He'd gone to Minerva about you and that baffled you.

"Y/n, I know you've been through a lot…" Her hand brushed your shoulder, - "...and I know you work hard to hide that. Severus, he's very perceptive, he's probably just picked up on a hesitation and ran wild with it. He's a suspicious sort...I imagine there's nothing to worry about."

"Yeah, yes, of course, you're probably right. But you think my work is okay? In potions?" You pressed on.

"Trust me, if it wasn't you'd know about it." You smiled. More for Minerva than for yourself. The conversation had left you feeling even more confused and concerned that you'd be seeing him tonight, alone. You walked her back to her quarters and said you'd probably see her at dinner. Then spent the rest of your afternoon in your own room marking the work Snape had given you yesterday. It was slow going.

At dinner, you purposefully stayed away from Snape and Lockhart. It seemed that too many tongues were already wagging and you'd been at Hogwarts less than two weeks. The aim of the evening was low profile, so you shrunk next to Hagrid, ate quickly, and went back to your quarters.

Full of nervous energy, you made sure your room was painstakingly organised and clean. Then you took a shower and picked out something fresh to wear. To your embarrassment, it took a browse through a few options to decide. Like this was some sort of date when actually it was more likely an interrogation.

You were ready too early. Sitting on your small sofa you continued reading one of your favourite muggle novels but checked the time regularly.

You watched your clock change from 8.59 to 9.00. There was a knock at the door.

"Prompt, " you whispered. Taking a deep breath you moved to the door and opened it. There he was. His usual unmoving self, in his usual black suit, with a bottle of fire whiskey in hand. You smiled and invited him in, "You didn't have to bring a bottle, you know? I invited you."

He looked slightly embarrassed, "It's just in case." He was looking around your quarters, looking anywhere but at you actually.

"In case?" You asked, confused. "In case I didn't have fire whiskey?" You grabbed your own bottle from a cabinet by the sofa and waved it in the air, "Staple diet of a teacher isn't it?" You laughed.

He chuckled sadly. That wasn't it.

"Wait…" You scratched at your scalp. You remembered what Minerva said, he was wary of you. "You don't trust my drink." You scoffed quietly and shook your head. "You've got issues, Snape."

He didn't say anything which confirmed to you that were right. What did he think I was going to do? What has happened to him? You grabbed two glasses and passed him one. Each of you pouring a drink from your own bottle, whilst you sat in front of the fire on a cushion and he took the sofa. You watched him sip and savour the flavour. The heat of your own drink filling your throat made you cough slightly; you hadn't had alcohol in a while.

"So.." He began, - "you were born a Legilimens?" He looked at you, he couldn't see your thoughts but he was watching your reactions.

You scoffed, "My day has been great, thank you." Didn't even crack a smile. You sighed, comedy wasn't going to break the tension. "Yes. Like I said, my Great Grandmother was the first to be born with it in our family, from what we could gather anyway."

He nodded, "And it skipped to you?"

"Yeah. My Great Grandmother's daughter, my grandmother couldn't wasn't born with it, nor could she be taught it. Apparently, her mother had tried to teach her for quite some time but she just couldn't and then…", You felt the words stick in your throat, there were some things that you wouldn't share tonight, "...then when I was a young child, my gift, if you can call it that, manifested itself."

"And the Occlumency?" This really did feel like an interrogation. Snape wasn't one for emotion, that much was clear, but he was completely devoid at this point.

You shook your palm at him, "Hold on, before I answer anything else, are you going to answer my questions too?"

He looked at you for a hard second and nodded his head.

You trust that he would, so proceeded, "The Occlumency, I was taught. Minds are far too fragile to leave out in the open." You said matter of factly.

"I agree." He drawled and sipped at his drink again. Ah, well finally, something we agree on.

There was a pause, the question playing at your tongue. "So you are? A Legilimens?" You were actually excited, the only other Legilimens you had met were your family members but you tried to hide that excitement as best you could from him, you didn't want to come off as naive and overeager.

"I am." He admitted stiffly.

"And why were you trying to invade my privacy?" You finished your drink, sat up on your knees, and poured yourself another.

He sipped from his glass again, lightly moving the alcohol around his mouth. The tension in the room was thick and you were the only two people down in the dungeons. Well, except Slytherin House but they were fairly far away. Why aren't you more concerned, y/n? You barely told your friends this stuff.

"I...you... it sounds absolutely ridiculous now." He sat back in the chair and he tapped his foot lightly. Snape wasn't usually the twitchy sort, you thought to yourself as you watched the anxious energy leaving his body.

"I don't need to know everything that is going on because there's clearly a lot." He raised his eyebrow at you but you continued on unphased, "It's not like I've not heard whispers. Harry Potter. Professor Quirrell. The Philosopher's Stone. Kids aren't quiet." You shrugged. "But I am discrete, Severus."

You watched him, his finger tapping his glass lightly, while something tap, tap, tapped at his mind. "I thought the Ministry had sent you."

A laugh escaped your mouth but you tried to stifle it by throwing your hand over the offending sound. Just like that, the tension cracked slightly. "What? Like a spy?" You asked, still softly laughing but Snape's body stiffened at the word.

He leant forward, his elbows leaning on his knees, the empty glass dangling between his legs. "Don't mock me." He said each word precisely.

You straightened your face, you hadn't meant to offend him. "I'm not trying...I'm sorry." Sighing, you shifted on your legs, you shouldn't have sat on the floor.

"There are many reasons why the Ministry would want to poke around these walls." He informed you, as he poured himself another drink.

"Oh I know that, but if you believe anything tonight…" You stood up, stretching out the pain subtly, and sat next to him. Tentatively putting your hand on his bicep, you needed him to see you, - "..please believe that I am not here for the Ministry. My Ministry days are dead and buried." You had to bite back the upset in your voice, you didn't need to give anything else away tonight. His eyes searched yours and you hoped he'd found the truth in them. "So, is that why you've been following me around? Why you always seem to turn up behind me? You thought I was here to hurt the school?"

"Partly." His voice sounded deeper you thought but maybe it was just the alcohol.

"Partly?" You repeated.

Your hand felt warm and you noticed that you hadn't taken your hand off his arm yet; you didn't want to break the contact with him, but you did anyway. He looked away towards the fire as you did so; you could have sworn you felt a shiver as your fingers left his warm body.

The fire crackled throughout the silent room. You picked up your bottle of whiskey and shook it at him and to your relief he offered you his glass to fill. Topping up your own after, you realised he wasn't going to answer your last question, so you sat back and let him stare at the embers. Watching a fire dance around always relaxed you, maybe it was doing the same for him. You hoped it was, the man never seemed to unwind.

A few minutes passed and although there was some lingering tension, it was nice. Then he looked around your room again and picked up your dog eared copy of Wuthering Heights from the table next to him. It was a book you had read a dozen times; something you always found yourself coming back to. A comfort. You couldn't take your eyes off him as he flicked through the pages. What are you thinking? He stopped on a page that had a small folded edge on the top and skimmed his eyes over the words. You knew exactly what it said.

"It was not the thorn bending to the honeysuckles, but the honeysuckles embracing the thorn." You quoted the page he had stalled at. You're not sure why you said it aloud. However, it seemed fitting; eerily so. Maybe you could embrace the thorn.

He was staring at you. His pupils dilated, leaving them looking like the black lake and his fingers were lightly skimming the page ends. His hair fell messily around his face and you had never been more attracted to him. The silence that hung in the air between you seemed to last far longer than it actually had, he broke it with a whispered, "I believe you." Relief exited your body through a smile and then he stood slowly. You watched as his body lengthened and instead of reaching out you closed your fist in frustration. Starting for the door you followed him.

He stopped and when he passed you back the old book his fingers touched yours for the briefest of seconds. Your heart suddenly felt heavier in your chest and you pulled your eyes away from his to look at the floor.

"Good night, y/n." That's the first time he's used your first name.

You raised your head, having rid the look of embarrassment, "Good night, Severus." When he left you breathed out a long breath and rested your head on the door. What just happened?